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New Anti-Money Laundering Bill Neglects Beneficial Ownership

Delaware Secretary of State, Fraternal Order of Police, and GFI Among the Voices Pushing for Legislation for Beneficial Ownership Collection in the U.S.

WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services has scheduled a Thursday markup on the Counter Terrorism and Illicit Finance Act (H.R. 6068), which has been stripped of provisions that would require collection of beneficial ownership information at the time of company formation, a necessary step to address this widely-recognized and well-documented vulnerability in the U.S. AML regime. A November 2017 version of the same bill included a section to address this critical issue.

The Committee’s move comes even as support for beneficial ownership legislation continues to build, including the submission of an historic letter of support from the Delaware Secretary of State, a key stakeholder in U.S. corporate formations. Beneficial ownership legislation already has widespread support, including banks large and small, businesses large and small, investors, law enforcement, national security experts, civil society, and researchers.

“No one can be in favor of strengthening anti-money laundering in the United States and at the same time willfully ignore beneficial ownership” said GFI President Raymond Baker. “There is more illicit money in the global financial system than ever, and the United States can’t deal with that reality until it does away with the ability to form anonymous companies within its own borders.”

Click here to download an updated draft of the Counter Terror and Illicit Finance Act, dated June 11, 2018 (the old November 14, 2017 draft is available here). The new version of the bill is scheduled for markup in the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, June 14, 2018, beginning at 9:30 am EDT.

The full letter from the Delaware Secretary of State can be downloaded here.